basket case

noun

Etymology: From basket + case. * (injured soldier): Based on rumors during World War I that wounded soldiers were transported in baskets. * (item to be repaired): The item's components might be brought for repair in a basket.

1. Someone (especially a soldier) who has lost all four limbs.

   “The Surgeon General of the Army […] denies […] that there is any foundation for the stories that have been circulated […] of the existence of ‘basket cases’ in our hospitals.”

   “Her mind, at its worst, is in ways analogous to a basket-case who seethes with desires to move but has no limbs.”

2. An institution or country in a bad condition or difficult situation (economically, financially or otherwise).

   “This country is a financial basket case, a country so broke that it should be a perfect warning to lenders.”

   “Some countries are breadbaskets, others basket cases.”

3. One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, stress or exhaustion; someone considered mentally unstable.

   “She was a complete basket case the morning of her wedding.”

   “Often, when you share a deep dark secret with friends, your friends start to treat you differently. It is very damaging to be treated like a basket case, when you intended only to CONFIDE a fear.”

4. An item in a disassembled state that is brought to be repaired.